Board admits firing principal, but says it wasn't form of 'retaliation'

Noelle Roni, who was the elementary school principal at Peak to Peak until her sudden departure Friday, Nov. 1. (Boulder Valley School District website)

After refusing to disclose any details this month on the departure of former Peak to Peak elementary school principal Noelle Roni, the Lafayette charter school's Board of Directors called her claims of a hostile work environment "baseless" in an email sent to parents Wednesday.

The board also confirmed that Roni was fired.

Peak to Peak board president Thomas Willetto wrote in the email that while the school was advised by legal counsel not to say anything about Roni's departure, the ensuing outcry from parents forced board members to address the decision to fire Roni, which was made by Kelly Reeser, Peak to Peak's executive director of education.

"Please know that the executive director's decision to terminate the elementary school principal was not taken lightly. Indeed, it was taken after extensive deliberation and reflection over a significant period of time. The board was (and remains) in unanimous support of the executive director's decision," the letter reads.

The email did not disclose why Roni was fired. In talking to the Daily Camera, Roni -- who was a principal at the school for eight years -- has said she was let go in retaliation for "standing up for children's rights and against activities that stigmatized children."

But Willetto wrote that an investigation by the school's human resources director found no evidence that was the case.

"The school's (human resource) director conducted an investigation and found the allegations to be baseless," Willetto wrote. "Her findings were then submitted to our attorney, who agreed with the (human resource) director's determination. In summary, all seven voting board members, the school's (human resource) director, and the school's attorney agreed that the allegations were unfounded, and the matter was closed."

Roni's departure and the board's silence on the matter sparked a firestorm among the school community. At a board meeting last week, police had to be called after the Board of Directors left a meeting without answering angry parents' questions about Roni, and parents started petitions seeking the recall of two members of the Board of Directors.

On Saturday, a letter signed by 16 parents that outlined the rationale for a recall was emailed to the Peak to Peak board asking Roni be reinstated, Reeser resign and the board's legal counsel to be fired.

Peak to Peak parent Matthew Hill, who's helping organize the recall, said the group has enough signatures to trigger a recall and has submitted them for an official count.

"It was a tough decision," he said. "We feel like we can make a change."

Wednesday's letter from the board, he said, "leads to more questions than answers" and didn't convince the group not to go forward with a recall. The group remains concerned about how the principal was fired, he said.

"This decision to fire her in mid-year is a very negative precedent for our teachers," he said.

Given that neither Reeser nor the board members have any teaching experience, he said, they made their decision without understanding the confusion and anxiety it would provoke. He noted that teachers at Peak to Peak aren't tenured and depend on performance evaluations for continued employment.

"We don't know why Ms. Roni was fired," he said. "The last objective evidence we have is that she did well on her evaluations."

The email sent to parents Wednesday noted that the board understood that the decision to fire Roni in the middle of the school year would lead to disruption.

"In light of all of the facts and circumstances, however, we believed -- and continue to believe -- that her decision was in the overall best interests of the school," the email read.

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story